Dragon Ball Z: Parallel
by Max6259
Summary: A young Saiyan genetic experiment is transported to a parallel world as a child. There, he is taken in and raised by a farmer. He goes on many adventures and realises his true power along the way. How he uses it, will affect the entire universe. Mainly OC's. Read and review.
1. Black Hole

"Frieza!" The young man was caked in dirt and blood. His saiyan armor was shattered on the right hand side and hung loosely from his left shoulder. A blood-soaked head band separated his long, spiked black hair from his eyes.

"Come out you coward!" He screamed at the circular space ship ahead of him. An army of soldiers, each one wearing the same armor, watched silently as the Saiyan called for their leader. None dared attack him after seeing him take down hundreds of their comrades without breaking a sweat. In the silence that followed, the man gritted his teeth and stared into the depths of space. He, along with Frieza's army, was floating high in space, above the Saiyan's planet, planet Vegeta. A pneumatic hiss broke the silence as a hatch opened and two warriors flew out of it. One was huge and pink, with a bald head covered in spikes. The other had blue skin, the body of a personal trainer and long green hair that was plated into a ponytail that hung down his back.

"Dedoria and Zarbon," Bardock (for that was the Saiyan's name) thought. "Frieza's elite. I should've known." One more figure rose from the spaceship. He was sitting in a hover pod, his thick, pink tail hanging limply from the side. He had purple-white skin and two horns that stuck out sideways and twisted suddenly up.

"Finally." Bardock said menacingly.

"Frieza. You will not exterminate my race. Frieza looked momentarily shocked, but quickly regained composure.

"How did you know?" His voice sounded like a mixture of a snake's hiss and an icy breeze.

"When I killed the psychic on my last mission, he gave my the power to see the future. I saw the destruction of planet Vegeta. I will not allow that to happen." Bardock said.

"Arrogant monkey. You can't stop me. Your race is too weak."

"Your wrong, Frieza. That's why you want to kill us in the first place. You fear us! You fear the power of the Saiyans!"

"I'm killing you off because your all stupid little monkeys'. And there is no one who can stop me."

"Yes there is," Bardock said. He pulled his right hand into a fist and forced all of his energy into it. "For my fallen comrades," He said as the white-blue energy sphere grew in power. "For my wife," he said as the sphere swelled and doubled in size. "For my sons," he drew his arm back. "This is..." He opened his fist, revealing the pure orb of energy in his hand. "THE END!" Bardock threw his arm forward and released the energy. It exploded into a comet of light and began racing towards Frieza. He didn't react until the energy was half way between Bardock and himself. He raised his index finger and a tiny orb of yellow-orange energy glittered into existence above it. Raising his arm above his head, the orb swelled to an enormous size, dwarfing Bardock's attack. He flicked his hand towards Bardock lazily and the Supernova sped towards him. The Supernova swallowed Bardock's energy blast and all the surrounding soldiers, incinerating them. Bardock knew that there was no escape. He stared at the energy sphere and accepted his fate.

"My son... Kakarot... Avenge me. Avenge the Saiyan race!" He screamed as he was consumed by the ever-growing Supernova.

The Saiyans' screamed as their world burned in the affects of the Supernova. Volcanoes rose in cities and earthquakes struck everywhere. The planet's core would explode soon. A Saiyan scientist rushes into a lab. He types in the code to a huge steel door and runs inside I room. The room is a huge, impenetrable box, it's only light source being a tube filled with glowing green liquid and labeled "Rayku". Inside the liquid, the form of a Saiyan child lies, unconscious. The scientist taps a few commands into the keyboard and the liquid is flushed out of the tube, revealing the child. His blonde hair, highly unusual for a Saiyan, sticks to his scalp and his grey tail, also unusual, lies curled below his legs. Another command is typed into the keyboard and the glass tube rises. The scientist picks up the child and walks over to a Saiyan pod. Careful not to wake the child, he puts him in the pod and covers him in a blanket. He inputs a set of coordinates into the pod and close's the hatch. He roles it into a launching tunnel and hits the launch button. The pod shoots down the tunnel and is launched into space. As it flies, something illuminates the pod. The baby wakes up and manages to look outside the window, watching silently as the Planet Vegeta explodes. The baby does nothing, then closes it's eyes and falls back asleep.

As the pod speeds through space it encounters many obstacles, such as meteor showers and cosmic rains. One day, it flies past a black hole. The force of it pulls the pod towards the black hole and it disappears inside it. It rematerializes in another dimension and flies towards a planet. Luckily, the planet is full of life. The pod crashes in the middle of a field. The owner of the field rushes towards the landing site. He is an old man, who's skin is wrinkled and tanned from many days of work in the field. He has white hair and a white beard. His arms and legs are muscular and veins can be seen on his pod hisses open and the man jumps into the crater when he hears a babies crying.

"What have we here?" He says, picking up the baby. His voice is soft and kind. "Your not from around here are you?" The child's tail droops below him.

"And it looks like you've got a tail! Isn't that interesting." He said.

"My names Bronson, but you can call me father. And what should I call you?" He thought for a moment. "My fathers name was Max. I'll call you Max. You like that?" The baby giggled.

"Good."

And so, Bronson took in this strange child, not knowing his where he comes from or how he got there. But why was the boy in such a strange tube? And will he ever return to his own dimension? Find out in the next chapter of Dragon Ball Z: Parallel.


	2. The Girl In The Red Skirt

DBZ: Parallel 2

Fifteen years later...

Max's blue-grey eyes opened slowly as the early morning light touched his face. He climbed out if bed and walked over to his bathroom, taking care to not step on any of his CD's lying all over the floor.

"I should really clean those up one day..." He murmured to himself. He grabbed a towel and some soap and shampoo and walked over to the bathroom window. He opened it and crouched on the windowsill, watching as the sun turned the sky from dark blue, to light yellow. He smiled. Then he leaped out of the window, moving so fast that he looked like I shadow. He landed by a forest on the edge of one his father's fields.

"I'll be back soon Dad." Max whispered to himself as he ran through the forest. He ran on for a while, then came to a wide river. The water flowed at an even pace. Max knew that, though it looked shallow, it was deep enough to submerge a herd of oxen. He took off his clothes and hung them on a nearby tree, along with his towel, and jumped into the same tree's higher branches. He gripped the shampoo in his right hand. Taking a running start, he leaped off the end of the branch and dropped towards the water. As he tumbled through the air, he summersaulted three times, before landing in a neat dive. As he surfaced, he grinned and let out a whoop of triumph.

"That was pretty impressive." A voice said. Max instantly brought his shoulders below the water and looked around suspiciously.

"Who's there?" He asked. He picked up a stone from the side of the river and brought it to his side beneath the water, hidden from sight. No-one answered. Suddenly, he heard the snap of a branch behind him. He spun around, and hurled the rock in the direction of the noise. It flew through the air before it diss appeared into the foliage.

"Missed me." The voice teased. Max recognised it as female.

"That was just to get your attention." Max said smiling. He brought both hands in front of him, and aimed them in the direction of where he last heard the voice. He drew energy from within himself and focused it to both his hands. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his entire body took on a silvery glow. He let the energy grow to a low level and then released it in front of him with a grunt. The air in front of him shimmered and a huge wave of water shot out ahead of his hands. The wave crashed on the riverbank and flowed past the trees, washing away dirt and leaves. Max grinned as he heard coughing and spluttering. He jumped out of the water and wrapped his towel around his waist. He walked over to where the sound was coming from. The girl had blonde hair down to her shoulders, blue eyes and wore a white sleeveless vest with a red skirt and flip-flops. She looked around his age. She was soaking. As soon as she realised that Max was looking at her, she stared up at him with a mixture of wonder and fear in her eyes.

"How... How did you do that?" She asked, her voice trembling. She was shivering all over. Max ignored her question. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"You must be freezing." He reached down to help her up. She pushed his hand away.

"Here." He said. He jumped into the trees and gathered an armful of dead branches. He arranged them into a pile and stood over them. He raised his arms to it and opened his hands, making sure to face them outwards. He focused his internal energy towards them and felt electricity crackle over his hands. He let the energy grow to a slightly higher level than before, but this time he pressurised the energy to make it into a visible blue/white beam as he fired the blast. It hit the centre of the pile if branches with a small explosion, instantly alighting it. The girl stared at him wide eyed. He grinned.

"My names Max," Max said. "What's yours?"

"Ashley," she said slowly.

"Mind if I call you Ash?" He asked.

"Go ahead." She said. She had shuffled closer to the fire and was hugging her knees to keep warm. Max realised that he was still dressed in only a towel. He began to blush.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." He said as he leaped into the trees and shot off in the direction of his clothes. He landed in the tree and pulled the towel off of himself, then quickly put on his plain white gi, blue belt and blue wrist bands. He wore black training shoes. His grey-silver tail popped out of a hole in the back of his gi. He jumped swiftly from tree to tree and landed opposite Ashley by the fire.

"What are you?" She asked.

"I'm not certain but I'm pretty sure I'm human," he answered. She gave a questioning glance at his tail.

"Well... Most of me anyway. I haven't seen you around here before."

"My family just moved into the farm about three kilometres that way," she pointed in the direction of her farm. "I thought I'd check out the neighbours. And then this," she gestured at her soaking body, "happened."

"Sorry 'bout that," Max said. "I only meant to spray you a little. Guess I used a little too much power." He grinned.

"How... How did you do that?" Ashley asked for the second time. Max looked away.

"It's called ki control." He said.

"You mean like the martial arts thing?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you had to train for many years to unlock that ability." She said. Max shrugged.

"My father always told me that I had a natural ability to control my ki. He said that it had something to do with my tail." Ashley's eyes sparkled for a second.

"Can... Can you teach me?" She asked suddenly. Max looked at her sternly.

"The training is strenuous," He said. "You could hurt yourself."

"I'm hard working! I'm a farm girl! Please, please teach me!" She begged. Max looked at her and but his lip. She clasped her hands together as if she were praying. Max sighed.

"Alright, fine," he said. She grinned from ear to ear.

"But," Her grin vanished. "I'll need payment." She frowned.

"That's not fair!" She moaned.

"Relax. I don't want money. What I want is..." Ashley braced herself.

"A kiss on the cheek for every lesson." Max announced. Ashley's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"A kiss on the cheek."

"Really?" She sighed.

"Hey, I've never kissed or been kissed by a girl before. Those are my terms." She groaned.

"Alright, but we have to start right now."

"Fine."

Ashley and Max we're standing in a clearing, facing one another. Max had a serious look on his face. Ashley was grinning excitedly.

"Alright, first things first," Max said. "Meditation." Ashley looked diss appointed. She was expecting this to be quick and easy. Max got into a meditating position.

"Sit on the floor and keep your back straight. Now place your hands on your knees palm up," he instructed. "Good, that's perfect. Now for breathing. Take deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. No, into your stomach, not your shoulders. There you go. Keep doing this silently until I say stop. Feel your ki flowing through you. Focus on it until you can visualize it moving freely inside your body." They sat in silence for half an hour.

"I... I can see it!" Ashley said excitedly.

"Good! Very good. Now, still visualizing your ki, open your eyes and look at your hands." She did so.

"Visualize the ki running down into them. Now carefully make more of it flow there. Wait for the affect." This part took about an hour. Suddenly, Ashley squealed with delight. Her hands had begun to glow whitish-silver. Max picked up a small log.

"Excellent," he said. "Now, hit this log like your normally hit something." She looked at him. He tilted his head towards the log. Drawing in a deep breath, she closed her hand into a fist and swung at it. It splintered upon impact. She gawked at the halves of the log in Max's hands. Max grinned.

"Looks like this is going to be fun."

High above, a wyvern sensed ki being used in the area below it. It scanned the forest for it and pin-pointed it's location to a clearing in a forest. It changed it's flight course and headed towards the ki. It's keen eyes spotted the children. It licked it's lips. They would make. Fine breakfast.


	3. An Apple a Day

The wyvern flew over the two teenagers in a figure of eight. It was deciding whether to eat them immediately or use it's elemental control to kill them first. Making it's decision, it began to slowly lower itself every time it completed a circuit.

Max's keen eyes traced the movement of the wyvern. He didn't let Ashley know that it was coming, leaving her able to focus on her training.

"I'm really getting the hang of this," she said as her body took on a silvery glow. Max nodded distantly. The trees surrounding the clearing were covered in cracks and hand and fist marks, signs of Ashley's increasing ability to control her ki. But she was growing tired. From the corners of his eyes, Max could see that she wasn't moving as fast as she was three hours ago and her breaths were sharp and shaky.

"Why don't we take a break?" He asked. Ashley looked relieved and she sat down under a tree. Max produced an apple and a bottle of water from his pocket and tossed them to her.

"Thanks," she said as she bit into the apple.

"I'm starving."

"Your not the only one..." Max said quietly. She gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged and looked at the wyvern. Ashley followed his gaze... And nearly choked on her apple. Max gestured for her to be quiet.

"What is that thing?" Ashley asked, terrified.

"It's a wyvern. Probably lives in the mountains that way," Max motioned towards the mountain range in the distance.

"It probably came down here for food."

"What does it eat?" Ashley was staring at the wyvern now, and was slowly beginning to move towards the trees.

"Mostly cattle and other large herbivores. Sometimes monkeys. And if it's a big one..." Max looked at her. Suddenly she was very scared indeed. Max cursed and realised that he hadn't been keeping track of the wyvern. He looked up at it... Just in time to see it shoot a large ball of fire directly at the clearing. Max dived towards Ashley and forced all of his ki around her and himself, then solidified it, creating a barrier. The flames licked at the two of them but they were protected inside their force-field. The wyvern landed in the clearing with a crash and beat it's wings to blow away the fire. Max stood up.

"Run," he whispered to Ashley. The wyvern made a strange humming sound. "Run!" Max's words were last as the wave of flame the wyvern had created engulfed him. Ashley screamed. As the flow of flame continued a shadowy figure moved inside of it, walking closer and closer towards the wyvern. When it reached it's face, it drew a fist and punched the wyvern in the nose, stopping the fire. The wyvern roared in anger and looked at the figure. It was Max, completely unharmed. The barrier had held. As the wyvern reared onto it's hind legs to blow more fire, Max punched it hard in the stomach. He then dealt out sixteen more blows in rapid succession, using his fists, feet and elbows. Mac fought with power but also with grace and elegance. His movements were smooth and quick, a fierce combination. When he landed the final punch, he placed both hands on the wyverns stomach, and began to charge his ki into them. They took on a white-blue glow and trembled slightly. Max grinned.

"Did you really think I would die as breakfast?" He asked softly. Before the wyvern had time to react, Max fired the energy in a wide beam, completely consuming the creature and damaging the area around it. It let out a final howl of rage before it was disintegrated by the beam of light. Max cut the flow of energy and stood panting by the charred forest floor. He turned and gave Ashley a thumbs up before fainting.

Max awoke in a bed he had never seen before. It was soft and Max nearly decided to go back to sleep before he realized that he didn't know where he was or how he got there. He stood up and walked out of the door, right into a woman who looked like an older of Ashley.

"Good your awake," she said. "I'm Ashley's mom, Sarah, but you can call me Mrs Gruft."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Max said. He was about a head taller than her, so he had to crane his neck to talk to her.

"The same to you. Ashley's already told her father and I all about you," she said, walking behind Max to stare at his tail.

"So it's true. You do have a tail!" Max shrugged.

"Yeah, I do. Is Ashley okay?"

"She's absolutely fine, thanks to you." Mrs Gruft said, smiling. Max felt relieved.

"Though she was quite tired after dragging you all the way here from that clearing," Mrs Gruft said. Max gave her a questioning look.

"She brought me here?" He asked. Mrs Gruft nodded.

"She said you'd fainted after killing the wyvern. You probably can't remember fainting." She explained. Max was shocked. To carry him all the way here must have taken tremendous effort. Suddenly, Max's eyes widened.

"My father! He doesn't know where I am!" Max said, beginning to panic. Mrs Gruft tried to calm him down but it was no use. A figure stepped into the room. His face was obscured by shadows.

"Calm yourself, Max. Your father knows exactly where you are." He said. Max looked at the man suspiciously.

"In fact," the shadowy man said, "he's here with you this very moment. The man stepped into the light. He had silver-grey hair and a goatee. He wore a black three piece suite.

"Father!" Max said excitedly as he jumped into his father's arms. Bronson grinned.

"I hear you killed your first wyvern today," he said. Max nodded.

"That is no mean feat for someone your age." His father said. "What technique did you use?"

"A two-handed wide energy beam." Max answered proudly. His father's face darkened.

"I have not taught you that." He said suspiciously.

"I figured it out," Max said. "Rather than trying to fire two speedster beams from one hand each, fire one large beam from the center of both of them." He grinned. His father nodded approvingly.

"Good. There are more ways but for now, that one will do. Now, I have heard you have a deal which you must uphold your end to." Max looked at his father questioningly.

"You must complete your training session with Ashley. And you will continue to train her every day for the next 18 months." Max nodded.

"Of course." He said.

"Good. Now, you will start immediately. I expect you home by 5 o'clock." With that his father turned and left.

Ashley and Max stood in a rocky area of the forest. Max wore the bottom of his training gi and no shoes. Ashley wore a full gym outfit.

"Where you being totally honest when you said you were a farm girl?" Max asked. Ashley hesitated.

"No. I used to live in a big city to the south." She said. Max nodded.

"Then we've got some work to do." He said, grinning.


	4. Mind Games

"C'mon, push yourself to the limit!" Yelled Max as he jumped from branch to branch. He and Ashley were in a part of he forest thick with trees, training. "You'll never be a fighter if you move as slow as that!" Ashley was struggling to keep up with Max as he hurtled through the air, effortlessly moving swiftly through the foliage, whilst she could barely keep her balance standing on the lower branches of an oak tree.

"Well excuse me for not being a fucking monkey!" Ashley shouted frustratedly in Max's direction. He stopped moving abruptly.

"What... Did you just call me?" He asked quietly. Ashley clamped her hands over her mouth, fear rising inside her. She had seen Max turn a wyvern, a ferocious wind dragon, into ash hours earlier. Imagine what he could do to her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just tired and hungry and angry and-"

"Stop apologising, it's okay. I'm not mad. Perhaps I am over working you a little. We will take the training level down then. But... What DID you call me?" Max said softly.

"I... I called you," Ashley began. "A... A monkey." Memories stirred inside of Max's mind, old memories, memories of hatred and fear, memories of death and destruction, memories of bravery and power... And memories of mass genocide. A planet, destroyed without a second thought. He saw fire and the ground splitting beneath the feet of unfortunate people. He saw families rushing to safety, only to be covered in debris, or incinerated by miniature volcanoes. They all had monkey's tails. He saw a tremendous flash... And then nothing. Darkness, of a kind. A voice, sweet and distant, broke the silence inside of Max's thoughts and called to him, reached out to him and pulled him away from the awful memories that couldn't be his. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes, now red and wet, to see Ashley staring intently at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Max shook his head.

"No," he said. "No I'm not." He sat down and contemplated the girl. They were both the same age, but Max was a good head taller than her. She was shivering and had cold sweat on her forehead. Max smiled.

"Let's take a break. Here," he threw her a small, green bean. She regarded it with distaste.

"This is all I get to eat?" Disbelief and fatigue filled Ashley's voice as she spoke. Max shook his head.

"Just eat it for now. Trust me, it'll make you feel much better." He said. Ashley shrugged and popped the bean in her mouth, before chewing and swallowing. Immediately, her cuts and scrapes faded and her tiredness was replaced with newfound energy.

"That's amazing!" She exclaimed. "What are they?"

"My father calls them 'Senzu Beans'. They can refill your energy and heal your body on the spot. Great for strenuous training and even better for fighting strong opponents," he grinned. "Now," he said. "Let's get some real food."

The buck stood grazing in a clearing. It did not notice as the two teenagers approached quietly. Max crouched down carefully and brought his hands out in front of him. He concentrated a flow of energy towards them and built pressure inside, just underneath his palms.

"Watch this," Max said to Ashley. He released the energy just in front of his hands, but didn't release the pressure, making the energy shape into a fist sized, pulsating yellow-white orb. Ashley gasped as the orb swelled to the size of her head. Max grinned at her surprise. He pushed the energy out to just above the buck's back, his hands open. Just as it looked up at the ball of ki, Max closed his hands into fists. Immediately the orb exploded and created an electrical field the size of the clearing, killing the buck before it had time to feel pain or fear. It lasted less than a second but the ground still crackled with electricity as Max and Ashley retrieved the kudu's body.

"Voila," Max said with a flourish. "A meal for two." Ashley laughed and felt the kudu's neck. It crackled with static and the flesh was still warm. It smelled of singed fur.

"How would you like it? I can make it into steak, sosatis, chops, biltong," Max said, slipping out a serrated pocket knife.

"Biltong?" She asked. Max stared at her, shocked.

"You really aren't from around here at all, are you?" Ashley shook her head.

"I arrived from a city way out that way, three days ago," she told him.

"I wanted to just mope in my room and complain to my friends on text but my mom kicked me out of the house this morning to go find something to do," she smiled at Max, and he looked at her, taking in every feature of her face. Her long blonde hair, her cute freckles that you only noticed if you searched for them, and her beautiful deep blue eyes, that seemed to mirror his face. He realized he was blushing and turned away. She laughed.

"So, explain this 'biltong' to me."

In the end, Max had decided to cook the meat on kebabs. He done this by slicing the meat into cubes with his pocket knife and sticking them on to skewers he had fashioned out of long twigs. He then balanced them in a branch and created a small sphere of golden red energy and made it hover below the kebabs, the heat slowly cooking them. He and Ashley now sat in a clearing, eating the kebabs and talking about themselves.

"I've lived on the farm as long as I can remember," Max was saying when suddenly, he felt a slight pain in his temples. The pain increased to excruciating levels in an instant and Max fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Ashley ran over and tried to help him but he was shaking too violently for her to be able to do anything. He let out one final yell before his eyes glazed over and he became still.

"Max?" Asked Ashley. "Max? Are you okay?" But Max didn't answer. He lay there silently, not moving.

"Oh god..." Said Ashley.

Despite what Ashley thought, Max was not dead. He was standing in an area with no light, and he could barely see his own hands.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Inside your mind," a voice answered from the darkness. Max jumped. The voice laughed.

"Calm yourself young Saiyan. You are in no danger."

"Saiyan?" Max asked. "What the heck is a Saiyan?"

"Allow me to shed some light for you," The room suddenly lit up and Max was standing on the balcony of a huge, palace-like building, looking over hundreds of intimidating, warrior like people, all with monkey's tails and all wearing the same battle armor. Max was strangely drawn to them, and he couldn't quite figure out why. Then it hit him.

"They're all like me!" He exclaimed.

"You are almost correct," the voice said.

"You are the same as them, but you are very, very different as well. You are special, beyond your understanding. It is why you are so good at controlling your energy. You are part of a once proud race known as the Saiyans. We were a warrior race, proud and strong, fighting without fear. But we were not honorable. We fought for sport, killing for fun. We destroyed whole planets and races of alien as if their lives were of no significance. And we had a stubborn sense of pride. In the end, our stubbornness was our downfall,"

The scene changed to a red planet.

"This is the planet Vegeta. It was our home world for as long as the Saiyans have existed. We were employed by a pirate known as Frieza," the name sent shivers down Max's spine, though he didn't know why.

"We captured hundreds of planets for him, slaughtered millions of innocent people. We were loyal to him and no-one else. But one man knew that Frieza would be our end. He had the ability to see into the future and foresaw that Frieza was planning to destroy Vegeta and exterminate the Saiyans, because of a legend,"

"What legend?" Max asked. The voice paused. Then, slowly, powerfully it said, "The legend... Of the Super Saiyan!" Max saw silhouetted figures, with golden auras and spiked golden hair, radiating power.

"He feared us because of this legend. Bardock, the warrior who could see the future, confronted him but Frieza destroyed him and all the Saiyans with an attack called 'Supernova'," The world in front of him exploded into brilliant light and Max shielded his eyes. It died down into darkness. Slowly, a bald man with a grey beard wearing a lab coat materialized in front of Max. He rested his hand on the boy's shoulder, tears appearing in his eyes.

"You are our last hope. You are the last hope of the Saiyans. I imbued you with special abilities so that you would become the perfect warrior. I designed you to make you the most powerful being in the universe. I-"

"What do you mean you 'designed' me?" Max asked. The man paused.

"Oh," he said. "I had forgotten that you didn't know. You are a genetic experiment. You are a being created by many different samples of DNA from different fighting races, you are an incredible Saiyan being. You were abandoned by your parents when they were disappointed by your low power level. I saved you from death, took you in and experimented on you, watched your power level grow and made sure that you would be able to survive anything..." He paused. This revelation shocked Max. To know that he was not of this planet. To know that his father wasn't actually his father...

'No,' Max thought. 'He is my father. Not by blood perhaps, but he was the one who took me in, raised me from a baby...'

The man continued.

"In our planet's last days I implanted a portion of myself, my soul, into your mind so that I may live on inside you, guiding you and training you when the time was right. I saw when you passed through the black hole and came to this dimension. I see your potential and I will be your guide. When you need to ask something to do with your past life, I will be here. My name is Professor Zuchen. You are Rayku, the perfect warrior. We shall make a good team," Max looked intently at Zuchen.

"Your wrong," he said. "I am not 'Rayku'. I am Max, son of Bronson. This world is all I have known, all I know, and all I ever will know. Why should I allow you to change all this?"

"Because a great evil is coming, and only you can stop it," Zuchen said.

"What is this evil? How can I stop it?" Max asked frantically.

"I will instruct you when the time comes. For now, let me teach you something..." He walked over to Max.

"Close your eyes," he ordered. Max obeyed.

"Think back, back into the past. See into this other dimension, see the man who destroyed your planet," Max saw nothing. And then... Max saw it. He saw Frieza, the Supernova high above his head, cackling as Bardock's energy blast flew at him. He traced every intricate detail of the huge, golden orb of energy.

"Good," Zuchen's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Now open your eyes." Max opened the. And nearly fainted. He had subconsciously raised his arm while his eyes where closed and up in the air, just above his extended index finger, was a Supernova. It was as big as Frieza's, but was a slightly different colour, more golden than orange. Zuchen silently gestured towards something in the distance. It was a practice dummy, sort of like the one that Max trained with on the farm. Max knew what Zuchen wanted. He brought his arm down towards the dummy and the Supernova raced towards it. Upon impact, the entire area exploded into a blinding, fiery light. The heat was intense. This lasted about thirty seconds but it felt like an hour. Max opened his eyes... And saw the flaming hole that was left in the black, glass-like floor.

"Incredible!" Max exclaimed.

"This is your special technique. You can see into the other dimension and copy attacks or abilities used by the strongest fighters at that time. You will permanently be able to use these attacks. You will also be able to see into the past of that dimension. It will take some time for you to master this skill but I have no doubt that you will be able to use it to its fullest," Zuchen said, folding his arms and smiling. Max grinned.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Max exclaimed. Suddenly, his vision blurred.

"It seems that someone is trying to wake you up," Zuchen said.

"Goodbye, Rayku. If you ever need me, or wish to train, I am here," He tapped the side of his head, and faded away.

Max felt himself wake but did not open his eyes. He could not see what was happening but he felt it. He could feel a pressure on his chest, as if someone was pressing on him. He felt hair, long and soft, brushing over his face, and felt breathing on his cheek. And... Something soft and warm was pressed against his lips, parting them, forcing him to breath. The feeling was pleasant beyond belief. Soft and smooth, warm and slightly wet, and tasting of... Cherries? Max's eyes fluttered open and he saw Ashley, eyes closed, pressing her lips against his own, kissing him. He raised his head and she let out a gasp of astonishment before hugging him tightly around his neck. He was shocked, still feeling the pressure of her lips against his. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. Her own eyes were red and puffy. and long, damp streaks ran underneath them to her chin. She had been crying, Max realized.

"I thought you were dead," Ashley said quietly. Max laughed.

"So did I," he said. She smiled and looked down, arms still around his neck.

"I need to tell you something," Max said. Ashley looked back up at him.

"It has something to do with my tail..." And he began to tell her a that had happened inside his head.


	5. The Demon In The Dark

div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"Deep beneath the surface of the planet the creature stirred. It struggled out of it's shell-like prison and crawled into the rock. It's eyes glowed a dull red for a moment, then fired beams of energy straight up. The beams split through the earth like a hot knife through butter. The creature moved it's head in a small circle, looping repeatedly. The loops became bigger and bigger and soon, there was a large tunnel towards the surface world. The creature tested it's ragged wings for a minute, then crouched, ready to fly. It shot upwards, faster than the eye could see, towards the light above it. As it flew it let out a horrifying screech of triumph, almost like a laugh. Moonlight and cool air greeted it as it flew out of the whole in the ground. It's red eyes had grown accustomed to the dark after so millennia of being trapped underground, so they quickly adjusted and the beast took in it's surroundings. It was in a lush forest, with a mountain range to the east. It looked around some more and, seeing nothing else, sensed for life around it. There were small animals in the forest and larger, more deadly ones towards the mountains. It sensed further outwards and smiled. There, to the west, was the life energy of: "Humans," the words were dry on the creatures tongue, as if they hadn't been used in a while, and it's voice was cracked and harsh./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"It's lips parted into an ugly grin as it headed towards the town./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Let the feast begin."/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"*/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"Max woke with a start. In his dream he had been trapped underground, thousands of feet deep, with no way to get out. It was terrifying. But what had woken him was not the dream, but at the mass of life energy that had just winked out of existence, human life. He rushed downstairs to tell his father, Bronson. When he got there, Bronson was staring out the window, towards the town. Max thought he could see a dim, orange glow in the distance. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You felt it too?" Max asked. His father nodded. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Go fetch Ashley. We must investigate at once," Bronson ordered. Max was out the door before he was finished nodding, starting in a light jog and gradually moving to an incredible and almost effortless sprint. As he reached the edge of the forest he jumped into the trees, leaping from branch to branch silently, like a shadow. He stopped once only for a moment to see if he was traveling in the right direction. He reached Ashley's family's farm in fifteen minutes. Before he even knocked on the door it opened and he stood staring into deep green-blue eyes. His pulse quickened and he began to feel strange. This always happened to him in front of her. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Ash-" Ashley cut him off./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Something happened to the village," Ashley said. Max became serious again./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""All the human life energy in the area has vanished," Over the past five weeks Max had taught Ashley how to sense energy, speed up and power up movements with ki, heal and even shoot small energy blasts. He had also taught her some basic martial arts./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""We should go check it out," Max said. Ashley nodded. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Let's go-" Max began. But Ashley was ready away, dashing through the trees. Max laughed./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""So this is how father feels,"/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"* * */div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"They arrived at the village in less than fifteen minutes. Or... What was left of it at least./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""What happened here?" Max asked quietly. Buildings lay in ruin, there were craters in the ground at random spots and the entire town was alight./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Something attacked. With an energy based move. Barrage type from the looks of all the wholes. But something's off. Ashley, can you tell me what's wrong with this scene?" Bronson asked./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""There are no bodies," the girl answered, nearly too soft to hear. Tears streamed down her face and dropped onto the ground below her. Max's hand clenched into a fist./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Then they are alive! We must find them, rescue them-"/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You know as well as I do that they are dead," Bronson said firmly. Max went silent./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You and Ashley felt their life energy go out. They are gone," Bronson spoke firmly but had a sadness in his eyes. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Yeah, they're gone. I watched them burn," a silhouetted figure was perched on the shell of a burned down building./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""And you survived?" It was a stupid question but Max asked it anyway. His logical sense was being overpowered by his intense fear he felt towards this creature for some reason. It gave an ugly grin./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Well I'm right here aren't I?" It said. Ashley asked the question before Max could./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""How?" The creature turned it's head to look at them, still grinning, and a pair of glowing blood red eyes met theirs. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""I killed them of course," The revelation hit Max like a blow to the stomach./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You... Killed them," Ashley repeated. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Well, technically I absorbed their souls into this," it tapped a glass like orb in the center of it's chest. For some reason, Bronson remained calm. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""But then why is the village destroyed if you only absorbed them?" He asked slowly. The thing grinned./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""After I absorbed the first couple of souls the villagers began to fight back. I had to use a little bit of force," Max balled his hand into a fist./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Your as monster," he said through gritted teeth. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Your half right. Technically, I'm a demon," the creature stood up and jumped into the light of a nearby fire. It was covered in a layer of dirty brown fur, had brown hair with two curled horns peeking out beneath it, and tattered bat wings on it's back. From the waist down it's fur thickened and turned a darker shade of brown, nearly back, and it's legs ended in hooves instead of feet. And it's eyes. Red, like blood. "And my name is Terrion. Now," Terrion licked his lips. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take your souls..." Max's hands were pulled into fists and white knuckled, his aura starting to glow around him. His eyes were facing the ground./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Just you try you," he looked up. Ashley was shocked to see that his pupils had disappeared in rage. "You bastard!" He screamed as he jumped at Terrion, his aura sparking blue-white around his body. Taken off guard,Terrion received a crushing blow to the face and was sent smashing through a nearby building. Max gave off an almost inhuman scream and began to rapidly fire blasts of energy out of his outstretched hands, blowing the building Terrion was inside to pieces. Ashley gasped in a mixture of shock and horror. She didn't think Max could be so violent and destructive./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""I've never seen him like this," Bronson said, his brow creased with concern. "Something must be reacting within him. Something to do with him being a Saiyan." Ashley looked at Bronson in surprise. He smirked. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You think your the only one he tells these things?" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""I guess not," she replied. Max had stopped firing energy bullets and was now standing still on top of the building that Terrion had been standing on earlier, watching the smoke clear. As it did just that, he heard an exasperated yawn./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Are you done yet? It's tiring absorbing so much energy," Terrion appeared from the smoke, tapping the, now glowing, green orb on his chest. Max was momentarily taken by surprise and his pupils returned for a second. It was all the time that Terrion needed. He pushed his arms forward and then back behind him quickly. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Satanic Blast!" He screamed as a massive green energy wave was fired out of the orb, swallowing Max. Ashley screamed. As the beam lost power, it grew smaller and smaller, until only green sparks and smoke remained. Max appeared from within the smoke, arms crossed in a tense guard. He was bleeding from cuts all over his body and the shirt of his gi was shredded to ribbons./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""That all you got?" Despite his bravado, Max's voice trembled and he was shaking, caught in some unseen coldness. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""You survived. I'm impressed," Terrion's orb began to flow again. "But I'm afraid that that was merely a taste of my power. I can do much more than scratch and bruise you." Max grinned./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""As can I." Roared angrily and his aura flared up around him. Suddenly, he was seeing through someone else's eyes and he realized that he was watching his dimension again, through the eyes of a man he felt he knew, though he had never seen him in his life. And somehow, he knew the mans name. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"emGoku./em it echoed in his head, bounced off of the cavernous walls of his mind. He felt Goku's entire body gain incredible strength, with one word said by him whilst pushing his aura to the limit. And he mimicked this, but differently./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Kaioken," he whispered. All at once, a raging red aura enveloped his body and his injuries faded to nothingness. His strength restored, he turned to face Terrion, and saw the fear on his face. He smirked and launched himself at the demon, moving faster than anyone could see. As he reached his foer, it seemed that time slowed down and Max raised his fist behind him, stilling grinning./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;""Let's go."/div 


End file.
